The Pacers are currently 11-1 with the best record in the Eastern Conference. They have exceeded all expectations and even took the Miami Heat to a Game 7 in the conference finals last season…but they have a huge problem. It’s a problem many teams in the NBA wish they could have. Danny Granger.

Granger, who has been out for nearly a calendar year, is due back next month. Lance Stephenson replaced him in the starting lineup and is becoming a star. He has already recorded two triple-doubles this season.

When Granger comes back, do you mess with the chemistry of the team and replace Stephenson in the starting lineup? Could they bring Granger, their longest tenured player, off the bench? Is a trade the best long-term solution to the problem?

The Orlando Sentinel reported last week that Phil Jackson was a serious candidate for either the Orlando Magic‘s coaching vacancy or to fill a spot in their front office. The talks were rumored to fall apart last week, but former Magic player Sam Vincent sparked them back up.

Vincent played with the Chicago Bulls while Jackson was an assistant and he spent the final portion of his playing career with Orlando. He is trying to broker a deal that would land Jackson and other well-known basketball figures in Orlando.

Jackson has a large compound in Montana and his girlfriend is in the Los Angeles Lakers front office. Would Jackson be able to commit enough time in Orlando? Would Dwight Howard stay if the Magic hired Jackson?Vincent’s proposal to the Magic would land Jackson and himself in the Magic’s front office. The head coaching vacancy would be filled by current Indiana Pacers assistant Brian Shaw, who was Jackson’s lead assistant during his tenure as coach of the Lakers. Shaw has ties to the Orlando area. He played on the Magic during their successful run with Shaquille O’Neal and Anfernee Hardaway leading that squad.

The crazy part of Vincent’s proposal would be the inclusion of Scottie Pippen. He would be Shaw’s lead assistant. Pippen hasn’t had any coaching experience and his only post-playing career NBA job has been as the Bulls team ambassador. He played most of his career under Jackson, so he could be there to help teach how to play the ‘triangle offense.’

Jackson will come with a hefty price tag. He made $12 million in his last season as the coach of the Lakers. He wouldn’t be in the same position with the Magic, but having him associated with the franchise won’t come cheap.

Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins is rumored to be looking for a front office staff that would spend a lot of their time locally. In Vincent’s proposal, Jackson would dedicate one week every month in Orlando along with various community appearances sprinkled throughout the year.

Dwight Howard and Jackson have communicated throughout the young center’s career. Jackson has told Howard that he would love to coach the him at some point. If the Magic hired Jackson as an employee, even as a figurehead, Howard could change his mind about leaving Orlando.

If Vincent’s proposal is turned down, a person could argue that Brian Shaw would accept a coaching job in Orlando. The GM position will be filled before the coaching vacancy is addressed. Shaw would be on any newly-hired GM’s list. Shaw was in line to get the head coaching job with the Lakers, but he was leapfrogged by Mike Brown. He went to the Pacers as an assistant and along with coach Frank Vogel, improved the team.

Martins is rumored to be looking at a laundry list of front office candidates. Former New Orleans Hornets general manager Jeff Bower, San Antonio Spurs vice president/assistant general manager Dennis Lindsey, Oklahoma City Thunder vice president/assistant general manager Troy Weaver, Thunder assistant GM Rob Hennigan and Indiana Pacers director of player personnel Kevin Pritchard are on his short-list.

Flopping is a hot button issue in today’s NBA. Indiana Pacers coach Frank Vogel was fined 15k for saying that the Miami Heat were the biggest flopping team in the league. David Stern was interviewed during Game 1 on the Pacers/Heat series and said that it needs to stop. Flopping was never an issue until Vlade Divac perfected the art of flopping in the late 1990s. It was frowned upon then, but over the years, it is now an accepted practice by most players. The best players in the league (Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul) all do it and I decided to give you some proof.

The Indiana Pacers didn’t have a nationally televised game this season. At one point this season, they had the NBA’s lowest attendance numbers in the league. Yes, even the Charlotte Bobcats were beating them in attendance for most of the season. Indiana surprised everyone this year and took a leap from last year’s #8 seed to this year’s #3 seed in the playoffs.

NBA analysts have been divided on whether the Pacers benefited from this year’s schedule or if they are legit. Indiana is full of young players who are still peaking, so they are a bit unpredictable. They started off the season on fire, but suffered a mid-season slump. After acquiring Leandro Barbosa, they went 18-9 and finished the season 42-24. Can the Pacers be consistent enough to win a series against the Miami Heat? How does Indiana match-up against the best teams in the West?1. Roy Hibbert is a defensive nightmare for the Miami Heat. Hibbert is one of the most improved players in the NBA. He hasn’t put up get offensive numbers in the playoffs, but he can block any guards that drive in the lane. There aren’t many legit big men in the playoffs and the ones that are left (Joakim Noah, Andrew Bynum, Marc Gasol), he has had big games against in the past. Joel Anthony isn’t an offensive threat, but Hibbert is more physical and will be able to score.

2. Paul George is turning into an elite defender. George came into the league with a big question mark. He had all of the tools to be a great player in the league, but no one knew if he would develop into one. He was good at a lot of things, but not great. He didn’t have a position out of college, much like Evan Turner. He has improved his game at every level and could be the Pacers’ franchise player very soon. In the past, Indiana has relied on Dahntay Jones to defend the team’s best scorer. He has done well, but he is an offensive liability. He takes too many bad shots and he has a quick trigger. George was top-10 in steals, steal %, and steals per game. He would guard Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Dwayne Wade with Danny Granger sharing the duty.

3. Danny Granger is a consistent scorer. I couldn’t say this at the beginning of the season, but he finished the season on a hot streak. He raised his points per game to 18.7 and finished the season shooting 38% from behind the arc. He doesn’t have the pressure to be the team’s leading scorer, since George, Hibbert, and David West could all easily have 20-point games. I have confidence in him taking the final shot and cemented his place as the team leader.

4. David West is fully-healed from his knee surgery. Before the All-Star break, West wasn’t playing maximum minutes and Tyler Hansbrough would often finish the games at power-forward. West is turning into a 20-10 guy and help the Pacers go 18-9 down the stretch. He is the enforcer in the paint, much like Kendrick Perkins was during the Boston Celtics title run. Teams are scared to go in the paint with West and Hibbert occupying it.

5. George Hill is a better starting point-guard than Darren Collison. When Collison went down with an injury a month ago, Hill stepped in and the team went on a seven-game winning streak. The team is much better on the fast break than in the half-court and Hill is a better scoring threat on the break. Hill only averages 1.0 turnovers per game, Collison improved his turnovers per game to 1.9, but Hill is better with the ball. Pacers’ fans are now happy that they traded their first-round draft pick (that turned into Kawhi Leonard) to the Spurs for Hill.

6. Indiana’s bench is one of the deepest teams in the league. At the trading deadline, the Pacers traded a second-round draft pick to Toronto for Leandro Barbosa. They needed a bench scorer and he has delivered. Hansbrough, Barbosa, Collison, Louis Amundson, Jones, and Lance Stephenson are an exciting second unit. Hansbrough and Amundson are motor guys that always fight for the ball and Jones can deliver perimeter defense. They will have an advantage when the opposing team rests their starters.

7. Indiana has the confidence that they can beat any team. As in #8 seed in last year’s playoffs, they made the Chicago Bulls fight for every win. They weren’t supposed to make that series close, but Derrick Rose had to give 100% to win that series. They have beat most of the teams in the playoffs and have only had a few games this season that were out of reach early. The team is peaking at the right time in the season.

8. The Pacers are an excellent road team. They had a winning road record (19-14) and even averaged more points per game away from home (95.5). If they slip up at home, like they did against the Magic in Game 1, they can make it up on the road. I know that it is tougher to win on the road in the playoffs, but like I said before, their confidence is at a season-high.

9. Derrick Rose’s unfortunate injury opens up the Eastern Conference race. Indiana has to play their way through Miami to face where Chicago would be, but they match-up well again the top part of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. Miami will be their toughest challenge in the East, so if they make it to the Conference finals, they will be favored. They will have a difficult match-up against the Western Conference winner, but it won’t be as lopsided as experts would predict.

10. A playoff match-up against Indiana will be a “trap series” for the Heat. Miami has only one goal, to win the NBA Championship. Their season would be a disappointment if they fall short of their goal. No matter who the Heat face in the second-round, Magic or Pacers, their focus will be past their opponent. A team will be able to sneak a couple wins against them throughout the playoffs, so that extra win could sway the series. I’m excited to see Indiana play Miami, since the entire country will be rooting for them to knockout Lebron and his “South Beach talents.”

No matter how far the Pacers make it in the playoffs, this season will be considered a success. They are a young team and are expected to make the playoffs many times in the near future.

I just hope that this is the year that Indiana hangs their first banner as a member of the NBA.

The Indiana Pacers are currently 22-28 and hold a one game lead for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. They have a good shot landing anywhere from the 6th seed to the 11th seed in the conference. They are on a roll since firing Jim O’Brien and promoting Frank Vogel to head coach. Depending on what other teams do before the trading deadline, can the Pacers finally make the playoffs with Reggie Miller?Since Frank Vogel took over head coaching duties, the Pacers have only one loss to the Miami Heat. They were leading much of that contest, but lost in the last minutes of the game. Vogel has done away with the “small ball” that O’Brien was trying the last few weeks he was in power and has been starting Tyler Hansbrough & Josh McRoberts at that position. He also said that he will start playing rookies Paul George & Lance Stephenson more. George has been playing a lot off the bench, but Stephenson has yet to see minutes this year. Indiana has responded and are playing with a fire and passion that was lost under O’Brien.

Larry Bird has been held under fire the last few years. He has been scrutinized about the personnel that he has acquired and seems to have changed his focus this year. He went with the best players available in the draft and didn’t choose the “good character” guy over a risk. Stephenson was a huge risk, but in the 2nd round, not so much. I still think he could be a factor on this team, but he hasn’t been given a shot. He could be useful in the D-League, but the Pacers haven’t been apt to use that option in the past.

The Pacers have a few chips that they could try to move before the trading deadline. Mike Dunleavy, T.J. Ford, and Jeff Foster all have expiring contracts and are very capable players. Dunleavy has been starting, Foster has been coming off the bench, and Ford has been a healthy scratch. All three players can contribute to any team, but doesn’t seem like the Pacers have them in their current or future plans. If they could get a serviceable power forward or defensive help for any of those guys, Bird should jump on it.

It looks like Indiana will be fighting the Knicks, Bobcats, Sixers, Bucks, and Pistons for the last three playoff spots in the East. The Bobcats and Pistons have been rumored to be sellers at the trading deadline, so that could end those teams hopes of making the playoffs. You never know what surprise team will jump up the standings after some trades. Can the Pacers make the playoffs this season? Absolutely, they have as good of a shot as any of the mid-level teams in the East. Will they make it out of the first-round? That is another story…I don’t want to be positive right now.